


There Will Come a Soldier

by RisingShadows



Series: born to be heroes [1]
Category: 1917 (Movie 2019), Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:53:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23403283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RisingShadows/pseuds/RisingShadows
Summary: Will had always known he wasn't quite normal. When he'd started reading Ancient Greek he should've taken the hint.
Series: born to be heroes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692130
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	There Will Come a Soldier

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Soldier, Poet, King by the Oh Hellos

Will had known there was something different about him for as long as he could remember His father had never wanted to hear any of it. Citing ADHD, and dyslexia as the only thing that set him apart and ignoring all else. 

Even when Will had discovered his odd affinity for ancient Greek he had been ignored. Left to the old books he could find and the occasional snippet of information his father would offer on the off chance he wasn’t too busy with his work.

And then things had started to change, little things at first. A shadow out of the corner of his eye, his teacher disappearing only to be replaced by an odd elderly woman all the while no one else even seemed to notice the sudden change. 

Little things all the way up until the odd elderly woman had held him after class. Smiling sweetly as she stalked closer to him and Will had clutched his backpack strap as he waited. Something about her smile making him increasingly unnerved as she’d advanced. 

When she’d lunged at him, face twisting as she laughed and hands shifted into claws. He’d had just long enough to note a metal leg beside what might have been a donkey leg, and flaming hair as he’d swung his backpack into the side of her head and ran. 

He’d made it home in record time. Taken just long enough to gather anything he might have needed and turned to leave. A note, with more than a few words misspelled left behind for his father when there had been a knock on the door. 

It had taken him an embarrassingly long time to decide to finally open it. A larger backpack leaned against the door frame and a note. 

Inside the backpack had been a wallet, a bus ticket, cash, a few coins Will thought might have been drachmae oddly enough and a knife, a small bronze blade that fit into his hand well enough. A little large, but he was 12. 12 year olds weren’t generally expected to carry around knives. 

The note had been the most interesting parts. A simple sentence, and an address. 

_ Go quickly.  _

_ Camp Half-Blood, Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141 _

_ Long Island, New York 11954 _

Will hadn’t exactly had the time or mental capacity to question it. He’d shouldered the new bag after filling it with everything out of his old one and spend a solid few minutes trying to figure out the best way to discreetly carry the knife on his belt. In the end he’d simply clipped it there and shrugged. 

The run from his house had been further complicated by the massive black dogs that had attacked him minutes later. Will barely managing to duck one as he’d pulled the knife free with one hand and turned on them. 

When one had managed to impale itself on the blade while Will panicked he’d watched it explode into dust. Coating him in it as he stumbled back a foot and took the chance to jab the second one as well. Watching as it too exploded in dust and he scrambled free of the alley. 

The ticket got him to New York City itself. A 15 hour ride that Will had been unable to sleep through. Too busy watching everyone around him. He’d already seen one little old lady turn into a monster while trying to kill him. He didn’t need another to do the same. 

He wondered briefly if his father had been home to notice he was gone yet. If he’d even noticed, he usually got home after Will had gone to sleep. Although Will had left the note, if his father had bothered reading it. 

He wasn’t always up to things like that when he got home. He’d tell Will the next day that he’d spent too many hours grading essays to bother trying to read Will’s chicken scratch. If he had something to say he should wait till he was home and then say it. 

Well, it was too late for that now. The knife a warm presence at his side, and the backpack oddly light on his shoulder. It hadn’t been that hard to find a map, Will memorizing the directions he needed as quickly as possible. 

Something had been following him since the bus. He wasn’t sure how he knew, or why he was so certain of it. So far he had yet to even see a familiar face as he slid through the crowds as quickly as he could. Down side alleys and crowded streets with his head low and his hand fisted around his backpack strap. 

He was close. Close enough that if he hailed a cab he’d probably have just enough cash to pay them. Close enough that he just needed to lose whatever was trailing him for one more minute and the he could get to the address and find out exactly what was happening. 

Which was why it was a surprise when a hand caught him by the shoulder and he swung around to face someone he vaguely recognized. The eighth grader from his school grinning down at him with his hands up as if to appear harmless. Crutches he usually used discarded a few feet away. 

“Whoa there kid, you know I’m supposed to help you get where you’re going. But you ran so quickly it took me way too long to catch up.” Will couldn’t even remember the kids name. But he could very clearly remember that the kid had never even been able to stand without his crutches. Just like Mrs. Jones hadn’t been able to walk without a limp and had appeared in the place of Mr. Moore a week earlier. 

“What are you?” The question wasn’t his most well thought out one as he scrambled back a foot, nearly tripping on an empty can as he went and realized he’d already drawn his knife. Pointed at the kids chest as he stayed where he was. 

“Mind putting the knife down for me? I-um I’m here to help promise but it is a little complicated it’s better to wait and tell you when we-” Will was already starting to take another step back when a clawed hand swiped through the air where he’d been and the other kid seemed to forget that Will had very clearly wanted him to  _ stay away _ . 

Lunging towards Will with a shout and catching him by the wrist, swinging around him to drag him down towards the end of the alley. Will stumbling after him as whatever it was that had tried to take his head off screamed behind them. 

“You don’t even remember my name do you kid.” No. Will did not in fact know his name, although he was blaming it on the fact that as far as he knew they’d never even exchanged a brief nod in the hallway. 

“Name? I don’t think we’ve ever even met-” In front of him the kid winced as he waved him off. Rounding another corner and pushing through a crowd of people as he went. Skidding slightly as Will took that moment to blink down at hooves. 

“Good point, this must be why they always say you should try to talk to-” Cutting himself off the kid sighed as he turned another corner. Will’s attention sliding from hooves to horns that peaked out of curly hair as the kid glanced back over their shoulders with a quiet curse in ancient Greek. 

Blinking again as he dragged his attention back to the present, ignoring the kids oddities, Will almost considered pinching himself. “Who’s they?” For a moment the kid seemed to consider his options for answering. Skidding to a stop on a street corner as he eyes Will. 

Will on the other hand was trying his best to decide if what was happening was real or he’d actually lost it. 12 year olds didn’t usually get attacked by elderly teachers who turned into weird clawed monsters. 12 year olds also didn’t find backpacks with knives and money centuries out of date on their front porches. 

“Unimportant, you’ll probably get a better explanation once we make it to camp anyways.” The voice dragged him out of his spiral of panic just in time to catch sight of another of the massive dogs that had attacked him the say before. Glowing red eyes watched the two from an alley way across from him as the kid breathed a sigh of relief and offered a half-hearted grin towards him. “Just call me Smith, it’s my last name. Now come on, we don’t have that long.”

The hand on his wrist still hadn’t let go as Smith dragged him along. Checking over his shoulder every block while Will scrambled to keep up. The knife was still clutched in his hand. Knuckled white as he adjusted his grip and tugged his wrist free to follow him. 

“Where uh, where are we going then?” The question was phrased as innocently as Will could manage while still trailing in the older kids shadow. And studiously ignoring the click of hooves on the sidewalk with every step. 

“You mean you don’t know? Will how’d you get this far without-” Pausing to turn and blink narrowed eyes at him Smith sighed a moment later. “You know don’t you. You just want to make sure we're going to the same place huh. Camp Half-Blood.”

Wincing Will shrugged as he followed him down the street flinching away when Smith let out a piercing whistle and flung a hand out. Hailing a taxi as he reached down to catch Will by the wrist once more and drag him over to it. 

Will didn’t listen all that closely as Smith herded him into the backseat before joining him. Pulling out a wallet as he did so the driver pulling away from the curb just in time for Will to lock eyes with Mrs. Jones. No longer the weird clawed monster as she watched from the street corner they’d just been on and Will flinched back. Ducking lower in the seat as Smith glanced at her as well and winced. 

An hour later and the car pulled to a stop. The driver asking them three times if it was the right place before finally accepting the money Smith had been offering. Pulling away without a thought a minute later as Smith dragged him up the hill after him and through an arch with Greek lettering Will barely had the chance to read. 

_ Camp Half-Blood.  _

Whatever that meant. 

Smith leading him up the steps of a house without a moments hesitation and turning to greet the lone figure on the porch. A man in a wheelchair turning to consider the two with a smile. “Chiron, I found the kid. William Schofield, this is Chiron.”

“I see that Smith. Now, Will, what do you already know about yourself?”

An hour later and Will was still reeling. Trailing behind the centaur- Centaur, he was a centaur. Because nothing in the world needed to make sense anymore- Smith barely wasting a minute before disappearing in the other direction. The tour of the camp ending with 12 cabins. One for each of the Olympians. 

“Blonde hair, gray eyes. Most likely a child of Athena though you’ll have to wait-” Pausing as he spoke Chiron offered another slight smile as he glanced just above Will’s head for half-a-second. “Never mind. Welcome William Schofield, son of Athena, to Camp Half-Blood.”

Hanging above his head was a glowing symbol. Disappearing a moment later before Will had really had the chance to catch just what it was while Chiron waved him on. Turning to lead him towards the cabin he had already pointed out. Surrounded by other blonde kids all of which took one look at Will and returned to whatever they were doing. 

“Welcome to Camp Half-blood Will. I’m sure you’ll fit in, now why don’t we find the head of your cabin and see if we can’t find you something to do?”

**Author's Note:**

> No Tom in this one but I do plan to make a series out of this when I get the chance! This won't be following the actual story line of the PJO books although the books events may be mentioned.


End file.
